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		<?xml version="1.0"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>Products - Tri247</title><link>http://www.tri247.com/index.html</link><description>Latest products articles from Tri247</description><item><title><![CDATA[Suunto reveals new sports watch training range]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_3297.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Suunto, the leading sports instruments brand in the UK, is launching its much anticipated new range of heart rate monitors on 1st May. The 2008 collection includes new designs and features as well as Suunto&rsquo;s first ever specific women&rsquo;s range, perfect for girls to shape up and get fit this summer.

 The new Suunto training watches will look great wherever you are, easily taking you from the office to the gym. The women&rsquo;s range is bang on trend with colours including vibrant orange to chic black, and elegant wrist straps with intricate flower motifs add extra glamour to the line.

 The new range consists of 11 models in total, starting at &pound;50 RRP, and includes the four women&rsquo;s watches and one cycling accessory. There is a watch for everyone&rsquo;s needs, from the introductory level t1 that is great for day-to-day use, to the advanced t6c that sets your training schedule and gives a complete workout analysis on the spot. All models display useful workout details and how to improve next time &ndash; it&rsquo;s like having a personal trainer at your side. 

 The t1c, t3c, t4c and t6c are all supported by a newly improved heart rate monitor belt, worn across the chest. This comfortable belt monitors your heart beat and communicates back to the watch. Based on your heart rate, the Suunto then calculates the amount of calories burned and shows the benefits of the work-out, from fat-burning to improving performance. It is the perfect way to push your boundaries again and again!

Suunto is well-known for combining advanced functionality with great design and the new training range doesn&rsquo;t disappoint. The company made its name in the extreme sports arena and is a firm favourite with world leading climbers, skiers, mountain bikers and skydivers, as well as several English premiership football clubs. Ambassadors include Daniel Unger, World Triathlon Champion.

 
Suunto watches are available from leading shops that specialise in outdoor gear, including Snow &amp; Rock, Field &amp; Track, Cotswold Outdoor, Ellis Brigham, www.sailgb.com - www.heartratemonitor.co.uk and www.facewest.co.uk]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Nuun gets fifth flavour]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_3285.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[nuun, creator of the sugar-free quick-dissolving electrolyte sports drink tablet, has added a new flavour to its family in 2008; orange ginger. Orange ginger is nuun&rsquo;s fifth flavour, it joins lemon+lime, tri-berry, citrus fruit and kona cola and gives athletes and active people a wide variety of choices in the replenishing electrolyte drink.

Each tablet of nuun makes 16 ounces/500ml of drink, approximately the size of a bicycle bottle. The company has also announced &#039;bigger nuun&#039; (which we may not see in the UK) that has a larger tablet size specifically formatted for ease of use in larger 32-ounce or litre-sized bottles and hydration packs. nuun was the first electrolyte drink ideally suited for use in hydration systems, because its sugar-free formula rinses cleanly and will not fuel the growth of bacteria.

When nuun came to market in 2004, it offered active people a new way to hydrate. nuun&rsquo;s concept&mdash;to separate what you drink to stay hydrated from what you eat for energy&mdash;defined a new way to replenish electrolytes in a convenient, easy-to-use form. Simply add a tablet to water, let it dissolve for two minutes, and you have a drink containing calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium&mdash;the essential electrolytes that aid hydration. For more information see their website: www.nuun.com]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Review: How Triathlon Ruined My Life]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_3170.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[John Levison has had his head in a book again. Here are his thoughts on his latest read.



Having recently reviewed another real-life triathlon story, I was fortunate to bump into Darren Roberts, author of How Triathlon Ruined My Life at this year&rsquo;s TCR Show. He enthusiastically offered me a copy of his book to review. We&rsquo;ve mentioned the book before on the site, but, to date, none of the team had read it. So, how was it?

Now, Darren describes himself as &ldquo;fat, bald and ugly&rdquo;, and his book as &ldquo;55,000 words of illiterate drivel&rdquo;, so probably fair to say he doesn&rsquo;t take himself or his literary prowess too seriously! While I&rsquo;m not going to comment on the former, I can confidently say I didn&rsquo;t find the book drivel at all &ndash; it&rsquo;s a cracking read, laugh-out-loud funny at times, which gave rise to a few strange looks as I chuckled to myself on the Tube going to work.

The book is a story; no, it&rsquo;s Darren&rsquo;s story, of going from scratch, to finishing an Ironman in six months, with all the impacts that has on home, work, life and family. This wasn&rsquo;t the initial plan, which involved a more pragmatic/balanced approach to building up to an Ironman event over 18 months. However, as is often the case, life events, in this case the birth of a child and the death of a young colleague, changed that plan and Ironman became &ldquo;something  I had to do, not talk about&rdquo;. So plans for a half-Ironman in 2006, then a full Ironman in 2007 became &ldquo;just do the full Charlie and stop messing about!  So I did&rdquo;.

Fair to say that Darren didn&rsquo;t arrive in triathlon from a couch potato background, having spent nine years in the forces; the Parachute Squadron of the RAF Regiment, no less. He also works in the sports industry in strength and conditioning with Red Bull, Reading Football Club and a number of professional athletes such as Paul Casey and Lee McConnell. All that said 100kgs of muscle, the ability to bench press small houses combined with an aerobic exercise regime of &ldquo;breathing in and out&rdquo; possibly wasn&rsquo;t the best start point for a potential Ironman.

What I like about the book is its honesty &ndash; it&rsquo;s 100% Darren. I met him for barely two minutes, but imagine that I&rsquo;ve got a pretty good insight into him as a person simply by reading his book. Nothing feels contrived, or put in because it will read well. It&rsquo;s just the good, the bad and the ugly of preparing to spend the best part of 13 hours swimming, biking and running to get that Ironman finish. It&rsquo;s also very observant &ndash; his description of the typical pre-race portaloo is a classic, as are the characterisations of typical triathlete stereotypes: &#039;alpha-male&#039;, &#039;swim nemesis&#039; and &#039;other triathlete&#039;...

So, from me it&rsquo;s a clear recommendation. If you are a triathlon fan, and like the sound of an honest, easy reading and funny book, this is for you.

Any profits from the sale of the book are donated to the Chris Jones Riders Fund, Chris was a 14-year old motor bike racer who died in a racing accident in 2005, whom Darren worked with as part of the Red Bull team. The fund was set up in Chris&#039; memory to raise money within the motorcycle industry to provide vital medical equipment to help the future of British Racing. Chris&rsquo; death was one of the primary inspirations for Darren to do the Ironman.



How Triathlon Ruined My Life  is published by Upfront Publishing (2007) and lists at &pound;9.49 currently. You can buy it through Amazon and all good booksellers.



]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Boardman launches Elite range]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_3254.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[It hardly seems a year ago that we sat in a room at Longleat and witnessed the unveiling of Boardman Bikes. After the presentation, and while the rest of the press were riding around the grounds on their machines, Tri247 got a very sneak preview of a carbon fibre, time trial/triathlon machine that was expected later in the year. As is the way with all these things, it took a bit longer!

Today, Boardman Bikes have announced their Elite range and the first of the machines is that TT frameset. Mind you, you wouldn&#039;t recognise it from that prototype! Gloss black and yellow will make this stand out a mile in transition and it&#039;s got all the boxes ticked when it comes to geometry. As will it ought, given that the design comes from the exceptional knowledge and experience of Dimitris Katsanis (frame designer of the current bikes used by British Cycling since 2002) combined with Chris&rsquo;s own cycling experience, attention to detail and passion.

Says Chris, &ldquo;With Boardman Elite we&rsquo;re aiming high. The bikes are designed for out-and-out performance. I have full confidence in saying that in the world of elite performance, these bikes belong in the very front ranks. Dimitris&rsquo;s level of expertise is second-to-none. I regard him as the most talented modern day designer of performance bikes, his qualifications for the task and track record in performance are hard to match.&rdquo;

The AiR/TT comes in three frame sizes; small, medium and large, and is supplied with aero fork and a reversible (74&amp;deg;/78&amp;deg;) seatpost and will cost you &pound;2,499. It will start to get into the trade in early June, we don&#039;t yet have a list of dealers. You can also expect to see some sponsored athletes riding them, although whether that will include Will Clarke and Alistair Brownlee we aren&#039;t sure.

The AiR/TT is the first of the Boardman Elite frames, there&#039;s a full-carbon road bike in the works as well but that&#039;s not going to appear until later in the year. You can check out all the details on the new Boardman Elite website: www.boardmanelite.com]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Review: T.ESS Megalight baselayer]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_3215.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Late last year I tested out the the winter-specific, &#039;Platinum&#039; model long-sleeve baselayer from German manufacturer T.ESS. With warmer weather (supposedly!) approaching, the UK distributor for T.ESS, LewisKIT (www.lewiskit.com), sent me one of their year-round &#039;Megalight&#039; versions to test.



The &amp;lsquo;Megalight&amp;rsquo; range, which is available in long-sleeve, short-sleeve or vest style, is described as a &amp;quot;light, soft, versatile, all year round baselayer&amp;quot;. I received the short-sleeve (t-shirt style) to trial and see if it lived up to that claim.

The first thing to point out could probably be described as a Ronseal moment on opening the box - it&#039;s called &#039;Megalight&#039;, and it really is just that. However you are going to use this, additional weight or bulk  isn&#039;t going to be an issue.

As with the &#039;Platinum&#039; model I tested previously, I used a medium size (the smallest offered) which was fine, though at 6 feet tall I&#039;m probably border-line between a medium and a large.

Aside from the (lack of) weight, the first thing you notice is the texture of the material. It&#039;s extremely smooth and soft, almost silk-like. Fit is fantastic - very close, though not restrictive in the slightest, and the almost complete absence of seams assists here. In use I found it to be very flexible, in fact you just forget it&#039;s on. The neck-line is much lower cut than the warmer &#039;Platinum&#039; model which is a good thing - when it&#039;s freezing outside, being super snugg and tucked-up is fine, but in less arctic conditions, perhaps racing, a higher polo-neck style would get irritating. So, once again the T.ESS guys appear to have got the little things right, including the length which is sufficient to keep your lower back warm while cycling, but without excess material. 

While I found the &#039;Platinum&#039; to be superb in the depth&#039;s of winter, this &#039;Megalight&#039; version should offer the most versatility when conditions are not so extreme. I used mine as a base layer under a skinsuit (where the close fit is a real asset) during a chilly early season time trial, for running (including racing) and even as a base when standing around in civvies time-keeping at an event! I think (and will try it soon...) it would also be perfect under a trisuit during a duathlon, when the weather is just that little bit too chilly, but a full cycling jacket or similar would be excessive.

Like the previous test, it bounced back as new after every wash and stayed fresh too. 
I&#039;ll admit - I didn&#039;t really expect too much. I was (still am!) a big fan of the super-warm Platinum model reviewed last year, but, if anything I think this is even better. And here&#039;s the killer...I&#039;ve just checked out the price for the first time: &amp;pound;20 (&amp;pound;18 for the vest, or &amp;pound;25 for long-sleeve versions). Get in! That is very competitive pricing for such a high quality, super versatile and durable piece of kit that really delivers.

Tri247 says: Very highly recommended, you really can&#039;t go wrong at this price for such quality and versatility.]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Review: Asics Gel Noosa ]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_3185.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Anima sana in corpore sano - a sound mind in a sound body. This phrase has supposedly shaped Asics&#039; destiny and is the echo of their consistency, innovation, commitment to quality and originality. If I am entirely honest, I&#039;m not sure if you could be of a totally sound mind to wear the Asics Gel Noosa shoe but, seeing as most triathletes are slightly crazy, this shoe&#039;s bound to be a big hit in the triathlon world and it is, most definitely, original!

As you would expect from Asics, putting the rather scary Hawaiian design aside, this is a good shoe and is ideal for those seeking performance and speed in triathlon events. It&#039;s also a very comfortable shoe with a great fit and Asics have done a great job on getting the cushioning and weight just right. For the more technically minded out there, the four points below break the shoe down into its five components: 


Solyte midsole: A durable lightweight foam midsole which provides optimum cushioning and shock absorption.
Ecsaine suede: Grip pads on heel and tongue for speed and comfort during the transition phase.
Biomorphic upper: Elastic insert in the upper located strategically to increase flexibility and decrease risk of buckling, friction and irritation of the upper on the foot.
Asics rearfoot gel: Silicone material that absorbs and dissipates shock from the impact at heel strike.
Trusstic: A moulded component under the midfoot area. It provides stability in the midfoot whilst keeping the shoe lightweight.


You may get some funny looks down at the gym, but when it comes to the transition area, you won&#039;t have any problems finding your shoes. On another note, you may need to get down to the local tanning shop as the garish design definitely looks better with tanned legs. If that doesn&#039;t work they do look great with a pair of jeans!

For more information, or to purchase this shoe, go to the exclusive distributors - Wiggle: www.wiggle.co.uk]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[New Hammer Nutrition product]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_3218.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Hammer Nutrition have added a new product to their range of endurance fuels and supplements. GEL-BOT, unique and new to the UK, is a water bottle with an integrated gel flask. Using patented ENERGY-CORE technology, GEL-BOT allows you to consume energy gel or drink water from one bottle.

GEL-BOT is easy to use, even while riding or running. All you have to do is squeeze the bottle with the valve pushed in to get gel or pull the valve out and squeeze to get water, just like a regular water bottle. You can forget messy foil packets, leaky gel flasks and having to slow down to eat. GEL-BOT is simple to use and easy to clean.It also works exceptionally well with Hammer Gel (from bulk rather than sachets), allowing you to just pour in what you need whilst the light consistency ensures it is easy to retrieve on the ride.

As advertised on Tri247 earlier this month, Hammer Nutrition are offering 10% discount on each order totalling over &pound;20 for the month of April. This offer is available on all products except clothing, click here for details.

For more information on Hammer nutrition products go to: www.hammernutritionuk.co.uk]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Review: New-Whey liquid protein]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_3153.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[Jo Haley, aka Blue Shark, took on the task of testing IDS&#039;s New-Whey protein supplement for Tri247 - after all, it was her that found it for us on the Fluid Force stand at the TCR Show!



Whilst taking a break from training hard for Ironman Lanzarote, the Pink Shark and I were meandering around the TCR Show when we stumbled upon what could only be described as rather large test tubes filled with brightly coloured liquids. [Ed: that&#039;s not actually what they described them as at the time...] On further investigation, it was revealed that these strange phenomena were in fact vials of &lsquo;New-Whey Liquid Protein&rsquo;, a product relatively new to the UK market containing 25g of whey protein and 100 kcal but no sugar and no fat.

Intrigued, we decided to we&rsquo;d like to trial them in order to determine whether or not this would be a product worthy of parting you from your hard earned cash. However, before this decision can be made it is necessary to understand the role of protein in human body and, in particular, why it is important to the triathlete.

The importance of protein &ndash; in brief!
Protein is important to all human beings. We, as athletes, are most interested in its role in energy metabolism and tissue growth and repair but its functions also include assisting in the formation of body enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, components of the immune system and helping to maintain the fluid balance in body tissues.

Put very simply, the longer and harder you train, the greater your protein requirements. Endurance athletes are one group who may have significantly higher protein requirements than the average Joe or Josephine, as are people on intense strength training programmes (especially in the first three months of their programme), teenage athletes who are still growing and those on weight-loss programmes. This is, in part, because protein is used as fuel to a greater extent when glycogen stores are low (eg, at the end of a long training session or when the calorific content of the diet is too low) and also because it is significant in the repair, recovery and building of muscle and other tissues.

So... How much is enough?
Actual protein requirements are complicated by the fact that there are two types of protein &ndash; complete and incomplete. All proteins are composed of amino acids; complete sources contain all nine essential amino acids whereas incomplete sources may be deficient in one or more of these. Essential amino acids are those which cannot be synthesised in the human body and therefore must be obtained through dietary sources. Animal sources of protein are complete whereas plant sources may not be. Vegetarians, and especially vegans, should, therefore, aim for the upper end of the recommended protein intake ranges and take in a wide variety of plant proteins so as to ensure they take in adequate amounts of all the essential amino acids.

The recommended guideline amounts (RDAs) for protein consumption in the UK vary:
 

For a sedentary person, the RDA is 0.9g protein per Kg bodyweight per day.
For endurance athlete that figure increases to 1.2 to 1.4g protein per Kg bodyweight. 
For athletes in the first three months of an intense strength training programme, or who are trying to lose weight, this figure increases further to up to 1.7g protein per Kg bodyweight.


The trial
We were given a week&rsquo;s worth of New-Whey Liquid Protein each and took two a day &ndash; one with lunch and one with dinner. (The guidelines on the side of the pack state up to three per day to be taken with meals).

The verdict
The vials of New-Whey Liquid Protein are certainly an easy and hassle free way of increasing the protein in your diet. The liquid is a complete protein and, therefore, may be especially useful to vegetarians, such as myself. Although the bright colours may put some off, the taste is sweet and palatable.

One instant observation was that, unlike other protein supplements, which tend to be in the form of a &#039;shake&#039;, the New-Whey didn&#039;t make you feel &#039;filled up&#039; and so not actually want to eat the meal that you were supposed to be supplementing. 

The containers are resealable, easily storeable and transportable. They are robust, but I would dispute the &lsquo;virtually unbreakable&rsquo; claim that they make as I accidentally dropped the first one I picked up and, yes, you guessed it, it broke! Actually it was the cap that broke, rather than the container, so maybe you have to drop them the other way up!

New-Whey isn&#039;t cheap, the 12-pack of 25gm shots lists at &pound;29.99 but you can find it online for around &pound;10 less. The advantages of having it pre-mixed and ready to use whenever you need it, it doesn&#039;t need to be kept in a &#039;fridge, and the fact that it&#039;s non-filling make this a very attractive way of getting protein in during that critical one-hour window after an intense training session or a race. Just be prepared for some odd looks in transition!

It&rsquo;s worth noting, however, that protein supplements are only beneficial if your diet is lacking in protein and that excess protein in the diet can actually be harmful to your health especially if you have liver or kidney problems. If you are thinking about supplementing your diet with extra protein and you have any reservations it may be worth consulting a nutritionist or your GP before continuing.]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Orca S2 wetsuit test]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_3157.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[In 2007, Orca developed a special cut-price wetsuit as part of their sponsorship of the London Triathlon. Called the S1, it was a half-way house between a watersports wetsuit and a triathlon one and offered novice triathletes a perfectly functional wetsuit for not very much money. They also used it as the basis of London Triathlon&#039;s wetsuit hire fleet.

It&#039;s now 2008 and Orca&#039;s deal with London is over - Speedo are the new wetsuit sponsor. However, that doesn&#039;t mean the S1 is dead. Through an exclusive deal with Wiggle, Orca have developed the S2 which is being sold at the astounding price of just &pound;99.99 and should be available to rent later this summer. Even more outstanding is that the suit has been improved with new DeltaStretch shoulder panels and a Slipstream zip at the same time as the price has been reduced.

Let&#039;s be clear about one thing before we start: we are reviewing a &pound;100 wetsuit here and not a &pound;300+, top-of-the-line one. That means that there&#039;s a whole different set of expectations and a whole different set of needs. To start with, we suspect that most of the market for this suit will be from first-time triathletes who would rather own their own suit than either hire one or pick one up  second-hand or ex-hire. We are also, if truth be told, probably dealing with athletes who won&#039;t be swimming at the front of the field. While this means that they don&#039;t need the latest in time-shaving trickery it does mean that they need good buoyancy, good thermal insulation (they might be in there a long time) and decent flexibility so the suit doesn&#039;t tire them too much.

Because we needed to get an early review into the system we decided that testing in the lake was not going to be a realistic option - you can only ask so much of your testers! - so we decamped to Hampton Pool early one morning to try them out. This year we have two testers who will be going to put all out trial suits through their paces. Both are very competent age group athletes and swimming is their primary discipline so they know what to expect from a bit of rubber.

The suits were ordered from Wiggle on the basis of the size charts and both fitted pretty well. Certainly there were no major gaps or wrinkles and both collars and cuffs looked to be pretty well sealed. Once in the water it was clear that both suits were going to provide plenty of flotation, but with a 5mm chest panel we would have been surprised if they hadn&#039;t! That said, the back of the suit is only 3mm and then there&#039;s the 2mm underarm and shoulder panels which are in a double-faced material which gives lots of stretch but without the cost of a top neoprene.

In terms of construction and panel layout it would be hard to fault this in a suit costing twice as much - the savings have come in the materials. The S2 uses what is, in today&#039;s market, a lower grade of neoprene with a similar saving in the liner and the coating. To put this in perspective, wind the clock back five years and you would have seen this quality of rubber in a mid-price suit!

There are some nice little touches; all the seams are blind sewn and glued with the stress points getting a bit of tape re-inforcement. The arm and leg cuffs are generously taped which means that you could cut them back if needed - although we felt that the legs were actually cut quite short and, with the inserted stretch panel, that made them plenty easy enough to get off.

To give an idea on the suit&#039;s performance we had the testers swim both steady-state and at race pace. The idea here is to see if the suit starts to induce and fatique or starts to let significant amounts of water in through the neck, cuffs or zip. Here are their reports:

The tester&#039;s views
Alan: Putting any wetsuit on isn&#039;t ever going to feel like getting into your favourite jeans but the Orca S2 felt reasonably flexible to put on and comfortable to wear, although raising my arms above my head did show up some restriction on the chest. It&#039;s a big improvement on my first Orca Speedsuit, purchased around four years ago for nearly twice the price, which left me with aching shoulders whilst on the bike. The sizing taken from the Wiggle site was right for me, although I do wear an Orca Apex 2 in the same size. Personally, I would want to try before I paid my money as it&#039;s a bit like buying pair of shoes.

In the water the suit offered sufficient buoyancy, important for body position and the confidence of a swimmer experiencing the washing machine effect at the start of a first triathlon race swim.

On the move the suit felt flexible enough to stretch the front of the stroke for the time required to complete a sprint race swim or longer distances at a more leisurely pace. It was only when stepping up the pace that I noticed it was cold under the arm pits and around the shoulders (possibly as result of the thinner neoprene) and water moving in the wetsuit. Getting out of the suit was not a problem,  a big consideration when you race for the first time feeling the whole world is watching you trying to escape from your wetsuit. For less than &pound;100 the Orca S2 meets the needs of a first season or someone not looking to spend big money in case they choose not to join the world of triathlon.

Jo: The S2 was very easy to get on. It was slightly baggier around the hips than I would have liked but elsewhere it was a good fit. The neckline was comfortable, essential for longer swims where you might start to chafe. The arms were longer than I like but were taped so they could easily be cut down and legs were a perfect length, coming above the ankle. The suit also came off quickly and easily.

At an easy pace the suit was fine but I found once I picked up the pace a significant amount of water entered the suit up the sleeves and pooled inside the suit in the slightly too roomy hip area. Overall the buoyancy was excellent and in terms of mobility, for a suit of this price the ease of movement around the shoulders wasn&#039;t too bad at all. I&#039;ve only ever had relatively cheap wetsuits and this compared favorably with the 2XU suit I currently use.
 
Possibly the only question I&#039;d have is regarding the suit&#039;s insulation. The test was done in a heated outdoor pool and I would like to know whether the shoulder panels let in the cold. [Ed: you&#039;ll know soon enough when you get in the lake in two weeks!!] My overall verdict is that it is definitely fit for purpose as an entry-level suit. The S2 would certainly float weaker swimmers very nicely and doesn&#039;t overly restrict arm movement.



Tri247 says: the old adage is that you get what you pay for and, given that you&#039;ve only paid &pound;99.99, we reckon you&#039;ve probably got a bit more than that as well. With all the major suit vendors looking to get into the bottom half of the &pound;100 to &pound;200 segment with an entry-level suit in an attempt to satisfy the first time market it&#039;s interesting to see how they differentiate their offerings from the S2. The reality is that there isn&#039;t much difference at all - based on last year&#039;s tests where all the suits swam to with a very small degree of difference we suspect the same will be true at the bottom end of the market. How much, for a novice, is that notional ten seconds worth? &pound;30? &pound;40? &pound;50?

If you are looking for a cheap, first-time suit and you don&#039;t want to pick up a second-hand one or hire for the year then S2 is made for you. As to whether it&#039;s the right suit for you in terms of fit may be a different matter - fit is just as important here as it is in a &pound;350 suit. Buying over the internet may be the only element of risk here if the size is wrong - but Wiggle&#039;s policy on changing suits for a different size is the same as anybody else; just keep it in mint condition and mind those fingernails.
]]></description></item><item><title><![CDATA[Go play with it!]]></title><link><![CDATA[http://www.tri247.com/article_3156.html]]></link><description><![CDATA[We may still be waiting for the new Forerunner 405 to turn up so we can test it but that doesn&#039;t mean we can&#039;t have a virtual play with it! Garmin have released a new 405 micro-site where you can see all its functionality and play with the touch-control bezel to your heart&#039;s content. Shame is, it just makes us want one even more... Oh, right, that&#039;s the point!]]></description></item></channel></rss>